Jean Senac, a French settler in North Africa, poet and creator of radio programs, decided to stay in Algeria after the declaration of independence in 1962. Ten years later he is now under police surveillance. His poetry recitals throughout the country have met with firm support and his program “Poetry From All Sides” has been a great success with younger listeners. To their great dismay, two young students, Hamid and Belkacem, learn that the piece they’ve written and presented at the first National Festival of Algerian Theater has been rejected under the pretext that they performed it in French. Their disappointment is eased when they meet Senac backstage and he congratulates them on their fine work.

Hamid and Belkacem become close friends with the poet and join him in his fight for freedom and the culture of Algerian youth. Senac, who is murdered one night in August 1973 in the cellar that was his home, becomes a martyr for the cause. Hamid is accused of the murder. –www.frenchculture.org

Director

Abdelkrim Bahloul

Abdelkrim Bahloul studied at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Algiers, and later at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Paris. In 1973, he obtained an MA in Modern Literature at the University of Paris. He then went on to study film at IDHEC. Before becoming director, he became a camera operator at TF1 and Antenne 2 from 1976 to 1980, then assistant director at TF1 from 1980 to 1983.

His first feature – film “The mint tea,” presented in 1984 at the Cannes Film Festival, described with humor and tenderness the tricks and lies of a young immigrant who believes that his mother remained in Algeria, but is actually livingl in Paris. He then made three more feature films and he developed this reflection on the situation of the emigrant, his relationship with his country and its history as with the host city and its inhabitants:

“A Vampire in Paradise” (1991) Grand Prize Film Festival of humor Chamrousse, Grand Prize of the International Festival for Children… read more